1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for configuring a data communications network, including, but not limited to, a local area network (LAN) or wireless local area network (WLAN). More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for allocating bandwidth resources in a data communications network.
2. Prior Art
A data communications network is a computer network used for communication among computer devices, often connecting a given attached device to an Intranet and/or the Internet. Various kinds of such networks exist.
One kind of data communications network is a local area network (LAN). LANs allow organizations to share information over a high speed network that may be assembled with relatively inexpensive hardware components. It used to be that LANs were limited to hardwired infrastructure, requiring the user to physically connect to the LAN via a wired connection. However, with the growth of wireless telephony and wireless messaging, wireless communications have also been applied to the realm of LANs, resulting in the development of wireless local area networks (WLANs).
A WLAN is defined as “a communication system that transmits and receives data using modulated electromagnetic waves, implemented as an extension to, or as an alternative for, a wired LAN. WLANs are typically found within a small client node-dense locale (e.g. a campus or office building), or anywhere a traditional network cannot be deployed for logistical reasons. Benefits include user mobility in the coverage area, speed and simplicity of physical setup, and scalability.” [From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing]. Another definition is “a local area network that uses high frequency radio signals to transmit and receive data over distances of a few hundred feet; uses Ethernet protocol.” [From WordNet 3.0].
Sometimes “wifi” is used as a synonym for WLAN although it is properly considered a trademark for the certification of products that meet certain standards for transmitting data over wireless networks.
Mobile communication technology is currently being developed to provide multimedia service by maximizing data rate and frequency use efficiency. A primary example of such technology is a mobile access network. The mobile access network is a generic name for a network that provides high-speed wireless services to terminals within specific service coverage.
Mobile access networks can be separated into Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), WLAN, and a Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) according to the sizes of their service coverage areas.
For example, in a WPAN or a WLAN multiple devices communicate with one another while sharing the bandwidth allocated to the network. Because multiple devices are sharing the same bandwidth, it is necessary to coordinate the use of that bandwidth. A media access control (MAC) protocol defines how that bandwidth is to be shared among the devices of the WPAN or WLAN.
It is also known to use a plurality of spread spectrum radio transmitter/receivers (“transceivers”) that are coupled together in a WLAN. A central host processing unit (i.e., a “network master” or “base station”) sends information to and receives information from any one of the plurality of remotely disposed client transceiver nodes (also known as attached or peripheral devices). In such a WLAN, the remote client transceivers may comprise portable units that operate within a defined environment to report information back to the network master. Each of the remote client transceivers communicate with the network master using the same RF carrier frequency and digital code sequence. It should be apparent that such WLAN systems offer increased flexibility over hard-wired systems by enabling operators of the remote transceivers substantial freedom of movement through the environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,379 discloses a transceiver apparatus for creating a wireless personal local area network between a computer terminal and one or more peripheral devices. A separate transceiver is connected to the computer terminal and to each peripheral device. The transceivers can be connected to the terminal or peripheral device either internally or externally. A low power radio is used to communicate information between the computer terminal and peripheral devices. Different transceivers can be used for modifying the carrier frequency and power of the local area network. The microprocessor is located inside each transceiver and controls the information flow of the transceiver including the communication protocol which allows each device to know if other devices are communicating, which devices are being communicated to, and selectively address the peripheral devices.
A WLAN is configured with an Access Point (AP) installed at an end point of a wired network or with a plurality of terminals. The WLAN offers high-speed wireless communications to terminals within its service coverage. It works around hotspots such as those available in households, schools, hotels and conference centers.
It is expected that the development of the mobile access networks will gradually increase dependency on wireless communications. In addition, the proliferation of terminals capable of accessing the mobile access networks such as laptops, Personal Computers (PCs), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), driven by their small size, light weight and low price, has increased demands for multimedia services in a mobile environment, particularly in hotspot zones.
Problems arise when multiple users share a single WLAN or other network computing environment. For purposes of illustration, this discussion shall focus on embodiments of the present invention within the context of a WLAN. For instance, in the context of a home WLAN, multiple users each with one or more attached devices may be trying to make use of the WLAN at the same time. If one or more of the users is engaged in a computing activity that consumes a large amount of the shared bandwidth, such as, for example, downloading large files such as movies, videos, or songs, this often drastically limits the other users access to the resources of the shared WLAN.
For example, User One could be the owner of a large apartment with two roommates, Users Two and Three. User One has a notebook computer that he sometimes connects wirelessly to the shared WLAN and sometimes uses a direct wired connection. The other two users solely access the WLAN wirelessly. One day, User One needs to use access the wireless network via his computer in order to e-mail his publisher some large image files necessary for the printing of his upcoming book. He needs to achieve this promptly. When said user tries to upload his image files, he finds the network is very slow and the upload rate on his files is very low. Said user then tries to plug in his notebook computer directly into the network making it a wired device but he still has the same problem.
User One controls the WLAN as the owner of the apartment and account holder with the Internet Service Provider. Using the password given to him by the ISP, he had previously secured their shared network by creating a password that users must have to access said WLAN. As said user had properly set up the WLAN to require the use of said password he knew that the problem was not that additional users were freeloading and making use of their network. His two roommates did have the password and were at that moment on the network. When User One asked Users Two and Three what they were up to, it turns out that Two was downloading movies using the peer-to-peer file-sharing program BitTorrent and Three was downloading a trial version of a large software program. User One had to ask both his roommates to stop their activities in order to reduce their bandwidth consumption and allow him to upload his image files quickly.
This problem could have been worse if User Two and/or User Three were not available to change their activities, for instance if one or both of them were out of the house at the time and had locked their doors. With the BitTorrent example, User One could ask his roommates to turn on the scheduler option on the program so that it only used large amounts of bandwidth at certain hours at which it is thought to be unlikely to pose a problem such as one to five in the morning, but perhaps it turns out that is exactly when User One needs to access the network in this example.
In such a situation, the only option available to User One under prior art is to cut off the others from the shared network. The simplest way of doing so is for User One to physically remove the cable connecting the cable modem from the wireless router and plus his own computer directly into the network. The WLAN with three attached devices in this example has now been transformed into a LAN with one attached device.
The other users then have no access to the network and User One needs to remember to plug back in the cable to the wireless router when he is done. In this example, our User One is an absent minded professor who often forgets to do this leaving his roommates without access to the network. When User One does remember to plug it back in, he may need to reboot the router and his roommates may need to reboot their computers in order to be able to access the network. At the very least, the other users will have been deprived of access to the network during the time User One monopolized it.
Similar such problems could emerge wherever multiple devices access a shared data communications network: in an office, home, café, business, public hot spot or any other number of locations. Such problems are likely to get worse in the future as users come to routinely access larger amounts of data such as movies. Accordingly, there exists a pressing need for a better way to allocate resources such as bandwidth in a data communications network.